1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new methods and apparatus for a portion control system and method for apportioning cooked foods in a commercial food service or quick-service restaurant setting.
2. Description of the Background Art
Weight check systems are known in the prior art for checking a customer's order or for checking the contents of a bagged order to determine if it is correct. U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,386, entitled “Computerized method and system for fulfillment of an itemized food order from a quick-service restaurant menu” describes a system and method in which a customer's order is input into a computer system that is adapted to check for the correct food content by means of weighing the bagged order. The restaurant personnel are alerted by the computer system when the packaged order is either overweight or underweight when compared to a predetermined weight range for the total items ordered. While the system and method of the '386 patent is well suited for making sure the customer is given the proper items, it is not adapted specifically for portion control in the quick-service restaurant setting.
French fries are the most popular item served at most quick service or “fast food” restaurants. At one well-known fast food franchise organization, hundreds of millions of orders are sold each year. These Quick Service Restaurants (“QSRs”) are renowned for quality control and training, which assure their customers of a consistent dining experience at restaurants across the globe. For French Fries, each QSR has established a selected weight (e.g., 2.6 ounces) as the average weight of a regular order of french fries, and the chain bases their pricing, margin and yield calculations around this performance.
Because of the inconsistent length of french fries, from under 2 inches to 6 inches, it is difficult for QSR store personnel to control portion size. Although stores have access to portion measuring scales for weighing individual servings, these scales are not regularly used, because they add extra steps to the production process, add complexity, and reduce efficiency during busy or peak serving periods.
The common outcome, verified by owners and others familiar with store operations, is that store personnel fill servings visually, leaving extra fries in each bag or carton to minimize customer complaints and speed operations, resulting in a 2-3% typical shortfall in yield. A typical store uses 400-500 pounds of frozen fries per day, translating to 1600-2000 orders served per day. Improving yield by 1% results in 16-20 more servings sold per day, and an increased daily profit of $19-26 per store, or over $600 per month. Therefore, improving French Fry yield represents the single most obvious, universal opportunity to improve the bottom line of QSR or “fast food” restaurants.
A solution is needed that accurately determines the portion size or weight for each serving, but only if that solution does not slow down service or the existing Fry preparation process.
Fresh, hot fries are typically prepared at a stainless steel “fry station”. Each station consists of a “fry tub” containing 1 or 2 receptacle bins for temporary storage of hot fries, infrared heat lamps placed above the station for keeping the product hot (140-165 F), a shelf or shelves for retrieving paper serving containers of all 3 sizes, and a “fry ribbon.” The fry Ribbon is a special metal grate/railing sitting above the tub, designed to hold individual servings, and for any dropped fries to fall through into the tub below. A typical fast food restaurant likely uses a fry station with features that have evolved over time and will likely continue to change. There are many different sizes and shapes as the design of fry ribbons have changed many times over the years and will continue to do so. The typical preparation and serving process is as follows:                1. Hot fries are dumped from the fryer basket into the tub;        2. The operator adds salt to the fries;        3. The operator places an empty pouch, bag or container on the fry ribbon or holds the container in their hand and uses a fry scoop to add the fries. The fry order (i.e., serving or portion) is weighed and adjusted, if need be. When no adjustment is needed (meaning the fry order meets standards for quality and weight), the order is placed (or slid) to one side (e.g., sliding the package along a surface laterally to the left) for “first in-first out” dispensing to the customer;        4. The operator repeats the process with the next empty container;        5. Each prepared serving sits on the fry ribbon. Operators typically place small servings in a horizontal row, with regular (or medium) servings and large servings in separate rows on the fry ribbon.        6. As more servings are prepared, the operator slides the prepared servings toward the left.        7. As a customer order is assembled for delivery to the customer, fry servings are picked from the left side (first-in, first-out procedure).        
This procedure is so ingrained in training and personnel habits that the procedure must remain relatively undisturbed if QSR operators are to adopt any improvement in apparatus or methods for portion control. There is a need, therefore, for a convenient, flexible, inexpensive and unobtrusive system and method for automated weighing of individual packaged French fry servings or portions for use in a restaurant or fast food setting. It is noted that French fries are a foodstuff or comestible which is often prepared, cooked or fried is large quantities before being apportioned or packaged for (hopefully) immediate sale and delivery to the customer, and other foodstuffs present similar challenges. Thus, there is also a need for automated apportionment or weighing of individual packaged servings or portions of other comestibles for use in a restaurant or fast food setting. In order to meet this need, a system and method must permit a time-efficient and relatively fool-proof measurement method and apparatus, ensuring that the customer receives the correct quantity of product and avoiding excessive portions, which diminish profit levels for the restaurant.